Insomnia
by EmoGhost1995
Summary: Shino could not sleep ever since Kiba and Hinata went into a relationship. ShinoHina and a little bit of KibaHina
1. Kiba Finds Out

How would you feel if the one you loved had a lover and the lover is not you? You would feel extremely sad, right? Well, that was how Shino Aburame felt. What he was feeling was beyond what words can say. In fact, he became so depressed when Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga went into a relationship, he could not sleep! Thank goodness he wore sunglasses! Otherwise everyone would have noticed the dark rings around his eyes.

Shino felt like his whole world was destroyed when Kiba told him the raven-haired Hyuga and him were more than friends. And the worst part was that the day Kiba and Hinata became lovers was the day Shino wanted to confess his feelings.

_Shino felt like another Hinata as he started playing with his fingers nervously. Thank goodness for his collar otherwise people would have noticed the blush painted on his cheeks!_

_"Shino?" the blonde Yamanaka exclaimed the boy's name when he entered the flower shop. If he did not have to protect his pride, he would have just fainted right then._

_"...I'm just getting flowers for the bugs..." he told her, trying to make her believe nothing was up. She then nodded and gave him a bouquet of different flowers._

_He had to admit: He felt extremely nervous. He walked to the training field and saw his two teammates there, hugging each other._

_"Yo, Shino!" Kiba shouted as soon as he saw the bug-lover,"Hinata and I are officially lovers!"_

_Right there and then, Shino could feel his heart break. It was as if there was a wound on his heart that could never be healed. It was like..._

_...His world had ended..._

_He turned around and walked back home without saying anything, dropping the bouquet of flowers on the grass behind the bushes._

Ever since that day, the scene has been replaying in Shino's mind every night and no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of anything else. Whenever he did, he would end up thinking about that day again.

He became even more, if possible, quiet and anti-social since that day. After all, who would not if their hearts had been broken like that? He did not want to get hurt again.

...Never again...

Why does he not just fight Kiba for Hinata, you may ask. Well, the position he is in is much more complicated. You see, Kiba has been his only true friend since young. When he was a kid, people called him gross and all because he had bugs coming out from his body. But Kiba was the only one back then who accepted him. Kiba was his first ever friend. Though they fought often, they were still very good friends. He definitely did not want to ruin so many years of friendship just for his own selfish reasons.

-  
>After completing everything he had to do that afternoon, Shino headed to Ichiraku ramen. He was hungry after doing so many things and let us not forget the fact that he is also tired from not being able to sleep at night.<p>

The bug-lover almost jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He knew the only person who would grip his shoulder like that was his best friend, Kiba.

"Yo, Shino!" the dog-lover grinned his silly grin. Shino simply nodded and he suddenly winced, realising how cold he was. Maybe that was probably why so many people hated him. Maybe Hinata also hates him too! He was thinking too much again.

"'Scuse me..." He stood up and walked away. He knew the pain of being hated and he hated it. Maybe being hated was just part of his fate... Oh God, the thought only made him feel like crying. Wait... Crying? Now that was not right! Since a kid, the brown-haired Aburame never cried! Not even when people laughed about the fact that he had a girl's name and not even when he was alone in the past.

"Oi, Shino! What the hell is wrong with you? Even Naruto, who is always so oblivious, notices something!" Kiba shouted from behind. Shino froze. He is so screwed.

"I have not been sleeping well lately..." he replied.

"Ah ha!" Shino jumped as Kiba exclaimed,"There **is** something wrong! You usually don't reply my questions unless necessary! Freaking tell me what the hell is going on!"

This is it.

"I..."

This is the time.

"I love..."

Just tell him already!

"I love Hinata..."

Kiba immediately froze.


	2. Shino's Depression

Kiba felt his eye twitch. He did not know whether he should laugh or get mad. Shino, the one everyone thought had no feelings, loved his girl? If Shino was not his buddy, he would have killed him in three seconds flat.

Kiba suddenly realised that the bug-lover was no longer in Ichiraku ramen. Shino had already left when he found an opportunity to escape.

Strolling down the village to his home, Shino kept a low profile so no one would notice him. He felt like an idiot. Why, oh, why did he tell Kiba? The moment Kiba froze and his eyes twitched, Shino knew the dog-lover was furious.

Not watching where he was going, the brown-haired Aburame bumped into someone, literally. He looked at the person. Great! It was the person he least wanted to see after he met Kiba - Hinata Hyuga!

"S-Shino-kun?" the raven-haired kunoichi called his name.

"Hey..." he greeted. He had actually wanted to run off the moment he saw her but when he saw her beautiful pale eyes, he could not do so.

"A-Are you a-a-alright? Kiba said you have been acting strangely..." Hinata asked. It appeared that Kiba had not updated her about what was going on with their silent teammate.

Half of Shino wanted to tell her the truth but the other half wanted to keep it a secret. Shino did not want to steal Hinata away from Kiba and make their relationship worse, but he still wanted to tell her. He felt as if his brain was going to split into two.

"...I've been busy lately..." he told her. Then he walked off before she could ask anymore questions. He felt like killing himself for being so cold to his teammate, but he guessed that it was for the best.

That night, he sat on his bed, hugging his knees to his chest like he did every night. He started reflecting on what happened that day and started feeling like killing himself. How could he be so cold to his friends? And he was such an idiot for actually falling in love! It was definitely going to be a long night...

The next morning, Shino could have sworn the dark rings around his eyes had become like Gaara's. Stupid insomnia! But he was definitely not going to see a doctor! He can definitely solve his own problems without the help of some dumb doctor and-! Oh great! Now he is sulking.

Shino met up with his teammates and his sensei, Kurenai. It appeared that Team Eight had to go on a mission to... Well, Shino did not really catch that. He was too tired to listen. Then he realised something odd. The entire team was more quiet than usual... In fact, they were too quiet! Then he realised why. Kiba was glaring at him the entire time and not saying anything! Hinata noticed Kiba's angry look and did not say anything while Kurenai just walked, not noticing anything.

The glare his ex-best friend was giving him was very hard to ignore. Whenever he tried to look away, he could feel chills running up and down his spine. Shino was definitely not used to the current behaviour of his usually noisy teammate. He heard the dog-lover swearing quietly. Alright... That was it!

"...What is your problem?" the brown-haired shinobi glared back.

"You are my problem!" the Inuzuka exclaimed so loudly that the two girls stared at him in shock.

"...Just how am I problematic...?"

"Well, you are an idiot for actually falling in love wit-! OUCH!" Knowing exactly what Kiba was going to say, the bug-lover punched the dog-lover to shut him up. He desperately needed to shut him up when he nearly blurted his secret out. The two boys started fighting furiously while the two girls did their best to stop them.

Kiba and Akamaru tackled Shino while the usually quiet Aburame sent out his kikai. They grabbed their kunai knives and started attacking each other.

"Kiba! Shino! Stop that! You will get injured before we even reach our destination!" Kurenai shouted.

"P-Please stop!" Hinata finally managed to speak. She was scared. There was something definitely wrong between the two of her teammates. Sure, they have fought with each other many times, but not as bad as this. In fact, they nearly killed each other! Upon hearing the shy Hyuga's voice, the two shinobi immediately stopped.

"Sorry, Hinata..." they said together before glaring at each other again.

"You should not only apologise to her, but also apologise to each other! Look at you! We are barely even halfway there and you are already bleeding like mad!" Kurenai scolded.

"Apologise to **him**? As if I would eve-!"

"...Sorry, Kiba..." Kiba blinked blankly when he heard those two words. He's eyed were widened and his jaw hung open. Did his ex-best friend just... Apologise? He felt himself soften a little when he heard those words. What... The...?

Shino felt ashamed of himself. Almost killing his own friend? How horrid was that? He knew he should not have lost his patience all of a sudden and knew he was wrong. Maybe all the lack of sleep was making him unable to think properly. Even if Kiba did not forgive him, he still had to apologise anyway.

"...Alright..." Shino stared at Kiba with his eyes widened. Kiba continued,"Fine, I forgive you and I am sorry too..." If he could, Shino would have actually hugged him but he wanted to protect his pride and he remembered that Kiba was still mad at him. To satisfy himself, he imagined himself glomping the dog-lover.

Kiba was still sort of mad at Shino because of his jealousy. Sure, Hinata was his girlfriend but he did not like the idea of someone else liking her. But after hearing the Aburame's apology, he softened and started thinking, trying to understand how Shino felt right then.

Night soon came and the full moon shone brightly. Two tents were pitched in the middle of the forest, one for the girls and one for the boys.

Kiba was snoring loudly while Shino pretended to sleep as he definitely did not want anyone to know about his insomnia. Plus, he wanted to see if he could finally fall asleep. Of course, he left his glasses on as he, after all, did not want anyone to see the dark rings around his eyes.

After tossing and turning for what seemed like eternity, the shinobi stood up and walked out of the tent. He decided to start reflecting on that day's events.

After thinking for a long time, he realised the entire team noticed he was acting differently, so he decided to try and act like himself, even if it was quite impossible right now.

God, why did he feel so emotional right now? He felt like killing himself, because firstly, he fell in love with his friend's girlfriend. Secondly, he and Kiba almost became enemies. And thirdly, he almost destroyed his pride. Without thinking, he pulled out his kunai.

Hinata opened her eyes. She could have sworn she heard a noise. She wanted to investigate, so she slowly tip-toed out of the tent.

"Kiba-kun?" she poked at Kiba as she entered the boys' tent. Kiba woke up, rubbing his eyes.

"Can you come with me? I think I heard something..." she asked her boyfriend and he nodded. Then they both left the tent and started wandering around.

After walking for about a few minutes, Kiba's nose twitched. He smelt something. Was it... The scent of blood?

Following the scent, he and Hinata found themselves by a stream. And when Hinata turned her head, she saw something that made her scream. Kiba looked at where she was looking and saw a bloodied body.

"Shino!"


	3. A Lesson Learnt

Oh no... Why did they have to find him? Maybe he should have just pushed himself into the stream when he was done stabbing himself.

"Just because I was mad at you, doesn't mean you go and try to kill yourself!" Shino heard Kiba shouting like mad but he did not bother to reply. He was tired. Very tired. But all the noise Kiba was making made him stay awake. Hinata had ran to the girls' tent to get Kurenai.

"..." Shino remained silent as usual. Firstly, he was upset that he was still alive. Secondly, he was tired. Thirdly, he realised he had actually stabbed his throat too, preventing him from speaking. It was weird how he did not die from cutting his neck.

For once in a long time, he finally managed to sleep by falling unconscious. He knew he was not dead. He was just in a very deep sleep.

Kurenai decided to abort the mission and head back to the village so the bug-user could get healed.

Hinata was afraid. What on Earth was going on? Why was Shino acting so weird? And what was the fight between Kiba and Shino all about? It was time to get answers.

"Kiba-kun... Is there anything going on that I don't know...?" Hinata asked. Kiba immediately shook his head, only to receive a sad look from Hinata. Unable to stand seeing her so sad, he told her everything that he knew. About Shino liking her and about the fact that Kiba turned jealous and all.

The team walked back to the village. Kurenai and Kiba had to take turns carrying the brown-haired shinobi's unconscious body. Thank goodness Shino was not a heavy person. In fact, he was really, really light. When Shino wakes up, he would definitely kill Kiba for carrying him bridal-style... If he ever found out, that is.

Hinata could not help but feel a little guilty. After all, she was pretty much the cause for all the trouble.

Kiba and Hinata decided to take care of their friend together because Kiba felt guilty about fighting with Shino and Hinata just felt uneasy and a little guilty.

Hinata could feel her stomach churn when Kurenai and the two of them had to wait outside the emergency room. Shibi, Shino's father, had to go on an urgent mission so he could not come. Kiba growled at the thought of Shibi not being in the hospital. What could possibly be more important than his own son, anyway?

After the few hours that seemed like forever, the medic ninjas, including Sakura, came out. Sakura smiled at them and they knew that their teammate was alright.

"You two take care of him. I have to go on a mission with Asuma and..." Kurenai shuddered before continuing,"...Gai..." Kiba laughed at his sensei's misfortune.

Hinata could feel a sharp pain in her heart when she saw the brown-haired Aburame lying on the hospital bed. Though she was dying to shake him awake, she decided not to.

Kiba had the urge to remove Shino's sunglasses from his face while he was still unconscious. After all, after being friends with Shino for many years and not seeing his eyes before, he was extremely curious. Luckily for Shino, Hinata managed to stop Kiba.

The room was quiet. So quiet that the two of them could hear Shino's soft breathing. The silence was suddenly broken when they heard their friend's voice.

"...Am I in the hospital...?" the teenager said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. His eyes widened when Hinata ran and hugged him so tightly that he could barely breathe. Kiba laughed at the sight.

"Why on Earth did you do that?" Kiba asked the moment Hinata had let go. Shino knew what the "that" refered to and remained silent. Kiba grew impatient and began tapping his feet on the ground. Akamaru, who had been beside the dog-lover the entire time, whined. Knowing how stubborn Kiba was, he made up an excuse so he did not have to reply.

"...I'm tired... I'm going to sleep..." the bug-lover said before he fell back into bed and pretended to sleep. Of course, he still had his insomnia and by the way, sleeping and falling unconscious is entirely different.

How could he tell them the truth? After all, they say the truth hurts. What? Was he supposed to tell them that he thought killing himself would end Kiba's problems and he and Hinata could be happy? No way! The truth was too dramatic and it would totally cramp Shino's style.

Hinata and Kiba stared at each other, showing each other their confused looks.

Kiba was bored, so he decided to go out and stroll around the village with Akamaru. Hinata stayed behind to take care of their teammate.

She started talking, thinking that he was asleep,"I-I know you like me... Kiba told me... But... W-Well, I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't be..." Hinata lifted her head and stared at Shino. He... Was not asleep? Shino continued,"...I was an idiot for liking you even though Kiba and you are already in a relationship... Oh well... I just have myself to blame..." The teenager sighed.

After a few depressing minutes, Hinata decided to start a conversation,"Did you know Kiba was carrying you in b-bridal-style?" Shino started coughing.

"W-What...?" Damn that Kiba! Shino was going to kill him... If he could, that is.

"B-By the way, I thought you were supposed to be asleep!" Hinata exclaimed suddenly, almost making the bug-user jump.

"...I can't..." he told her,"I have insomnia..." Hinata's white eyes widened.

"W-Why?" Shino explained everything he needed to explain to her.

"Oh d-dear... I'm so s-sorry..." Hinata apologised once again. Out of the blue, she suddenly just gave him a peck on the lips. She said,"T-That was to make up for everything... Are we still f-friends?"

Shino nodded before the girl left to get some water. After making sure she left, Shino covered his mouth with his hands and started to blush.

Though Hinata did not like him the way he did, Shino had received his first kiss from her. Shino also realised that to make your loved ones happy, you have to learn to sacrifice.


	4. Kiba And Hinata Breaks Up

A few months had passed since **that** incident and, reason unknown, Shino was finally cured of his insomnia. He had learnt an important lesson from the incident a few months ago and felt like he, if possible, had matured more.

Sometimes Kiba would glare daggers at him, probably due to his suspicious mind, and try and pick a fight, but besides that, the two had already forgiven each other and resumed being buddies.

Hinata had seemed forgotten all about the incident since she never spoke of it. But who knows? People never suspect the quiet ones.

Kurenai-sensei did not really understand what was really going on for the past few months, but she chose to pretend it had never happened.

Shino, thinking that probably everyone forgot about the incident, started to behave like how he did before what had happened a few months ago. Thinking that everything was back to normal, he pretended that that incident had never ever happened. He heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that nothing will ever go wrong with the team again.

How wrong he was...

On a seemingly wonderful morning one day, the browned-haired Aburame, with his hands in his pockets, wandered around the village. It was very early in the morning, so not many villagers were around. Walking by the training fields, he heard someone sobbing.

"...Hinata...?" he tilted his head to his right as he called his female teammate's name.

The raven-haired Hyuga jumped. Her eyes were slightly red, due to the fact that she was crying. Tears were still streaming down her eyes as she tried to stop herself from sobbing and crying.

Shino stared at his friend, slightly shocked. He had seen her getting scolded by her father many times and she, excluding some times when she might stutter or whine a little, did not even have a single tear roll down from her pale eyes. So seeing her break down so badly now only created a sharp pain in his heart.

"...Hinata, what happened...?" Shino asked as he sat down next to the girl.

"...K-Kiba-kun... B-B-Broke up w-w-with m-m-" Before she could even complete her sentence, she started crying her eyes out again. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around the bug-lover and continued to cry. Shino's jacket was going wet from her tears but seeing his ex-crush so upset, he did not care.

About half an hour or so had passed before she stopped crying. Shino had accompanied her on her way home so that she would not feel so lonely. Though he was curious, he resisted asking her what happened between Kiba and her as he was afraid that it might have caused her to be more upset.

The next day after training, Hinata suddenly told Shino what had happened the other day, "Kiba-kun broke up with me... Because he said we weren't meant to be with each other..." She sighed before she continued, "I guess I'm just not good enough for anyone..."

Upon hearing her depressing statement, Shino had the sudden urge to object, but he successfully resisted it. He felt as if he should just listen to her as it seems like all Hinata needed now was someone to share her problems with, not object to whatever she says. As the poor girl continued sharing her problems, small tears starting streaming down her cheeks.

The time flew by without the two of them noticing and it soon turned dark. Hinata's eyes were slightly, no, **very **red by the time she stopped crying. How long had she been crying? 30 minutes? 1 hour? 5 hours? Who knows? Even Shino did not keep track.

After taking her home, the Aburame headed home himself. Tossing his jacket to a corner in his room, Shino started thinking about what his female teammate had told him.

"_I-I-I have no i-i-idea why, but Kiba-kun s-s-suddenly came up to me o-o-one day a-a-and told m-me __**that**__… A-A-Am I really such a b-b-bad girlfriend?" the Hyuga heiress sobbed before she continued, "M-M-Maybe I really am… M-M-Maybe that's why Naruto did not even notice my love for him before! Maybe that's w-why… K-Kiba-kun no longer loves me…" Then she began sobbing uncontrollably._

Shino wondered. What made Kiba suddenly think that? Perhaps he should ask him the next day…

"…Kiba…" Shino called his best friend's name in his monotone voice. The Inuzuka turned around to look at Shino while Akamaru simply barked. Shino continued, "Why did you break up with Hinata?" _Okay, that was __**too**__ straightforward…_

"What's it to you, bug-freak?" the brown-haired dog-lover scowled as he said, making the Aburame frown.

"…Well, let's just say I hate seeing Hinata so upset…" came Shino's simple answer.

"Dude, do you still like her?" Kiba exclaimed and Shino's eyes widened. Maybe it **is** true… Maybe the Aburame still had feelings for Hinata.

"Look, bug-freak. I already told Hinata that I don't think our relationship is working really well. Why is she still upset? Jeez…" Kiba pouted.

"…You know her… She's… Uh… Negative…" came Shino's reply. Kiba gave an "Oh" look before sighing and raising his two hands halfway up into the air, muttering something about Hinata being hopeless, making Shino twitch his eyebrows.

"Know what? You go and cheer her up! I… Ah… I doubt she would want to see me after… You know… **That**…" Kiba looked down as he said, looking rather guilty. Shino wanted to object but after thinking about the Inuzuka's statement for a while, he decided not to.

Sighing, Shino went off to find Hinata.


	5. Shino Gets Depression

**A/N: **Shino is rather OOC at the end of this chapter due to a little bit of depression

Shino unconsciously let out a frustrated sigh. He had been searching around for the Hyuga heiress and, unfortunately, was not able to find her. Perhaps she was out on a mission? No, if she was, she probably would have told him. Then was she visiting another village? Impossible! Hiashi would never let her visit another village unless it was for a mission or something urgent.

Shino continued thinking while talking to himself, "Let's see... If she is not in the village, she has to be somewhere outside the village but nearby. But then... She seemed rather emotionally hurt. She probably would not even feel like going out... Unless...!" Then he gasped before he continued, "Could she have...?"

Without thinking, the Aburame ran as if his life depended on it. He made his way out of the village through the main gate and into the forest.

A strange scent filled the air - Blood. But why would there be a scent of blood? Could it be that what Shino suspected was true? Panicking, Shino sent out his kikai to search the entire forest. He would not rest until he had found Hinata. While his kikai were searching, the bug-lover was also searching around.

For what seemed like eternity, the Aburame finally grew tired. His kikai had not found the raven-haired girl and neither had he. Just when he thought all hope was lost, he noticed a tiny red stain in the grass. And when he turned his head to the right, he saw a thin trail of the red liquid, which was obviously blood.

Summoning all his kikai back, he quickly followed the trail and it led him right towards the unconscious body of the Hyuga heiress, Hinata.

She had slashes all over her body. A couple on her face, one on her neck, several on her limbs, and quite a number on her body, judging by the cuts on her clothing. Hinata was bleeding all over and there lay a bloody kunai right beside her.

"H-Hinata!" Shino's heart skipped a beat as he wondered if she was dead. He immediately made his way towards the unconscious girl and checked her pulse. It was faint, but it was still beating. But now was not the time to be glad! He had to take her to the hospital.

Carrying Hinata in piggyback style, he dashed towards Konoha, sometimes tripping over branches and roots on the ground. He was determined to get to the hospital no matter what! But his body betrayed him. He started going slower and slower and he soon started walking. Soon enough, he collapsed, face full of sweat. When on Earth did Hinata become so heavy? Shino was exhausted and after he swore under his breath, he soon blacked out.

Fortunately, he had passed out near the village gate and the gatekeepers noticed them and took them to the hospital.

Kiba, upon hearing what had happened to his teammates, immediately rushed to the hospital. He started swearing and cursing the medics who refused to let him see them.

Shibi Aburame and Hiashi Hyuga soon arrived at the hospital.

"Hinata is having an emotionally difficult time right now, according to what Shino said the moment he woke up, and Shino is suffering from exhaustion, which may make him feel weak and have a lack of energy, have high irritability, and he may feel depressed. Hinata is still unconscious so we have to observe her for a while more..." said the medical ninja who had just came out of Shino's hospital room. He paused and bit his lower lip, before he continued, "Also, Hiashi-sama, about your daughter... She has lost a lot of blood so... We don't know if she may die or not..."

Kiba was about to scream but was interrupted.

"...Hinata may die...?" the younger Aburame's eyes widened. He had slipped out of his room to ask the medic something but had overheard everything. Shibi, remembering what the medical ninja said about what may happen to people with exhaustion, immediately tried to calm his son down. However, he failed.

Shino ran into his room and pushed the table towards the door so the door could not be opened. Then he randomly started hitting his head on the table.

"It's my fault!"

Bang!

"I should have realised this earlier!"

Bang!

"Why am I so stupid?"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Then the banging stopped and Shino laid his bruised head on the table. If he was not imagining things, he would have sworn there were a couple of tears rolling down his cheeks.

He was useless. And Hinata did not deserve him.


	6. Shino's Insomnia Is Back

From Kiba point of view, depression seemed to make Shino very... Not like himself. Ever since Shino came out of the hospital, Kiba and Shibi had been keeping an eye on him, in case he did anything rash. It was obvious to Kiba that the bug-lover still had strong feelings for the Hyuga heiress, and that incident was definitely a huge blow to Shino, especially the fact that Hinata may pass away.

Kiba was wandering around Konoha with the Aburame about a week after he was discharged. After all, this entire incident was his entire fault and he made his best friend have depression and he also made his ex-girlfriend have a risk of dying. Hence, the least he could do was help the Aburame and make sure he did not do anything rash.

No one was blaming the dog-lover though. No one… but himself. The strong sense of guilt had made him feel so uncomfortable. And because he felt so guilty, he wanted to help Shibi make sure Shino would not harm himself. So in order to do that, Kiba decided to sleepover at the Aburame compound, at least until Shino goes back to being himself and Hinata gains consciousness.

"...Kiba..." Shino's monotone voice brought Kiba back to reality as his thoughts disappeared.

"Yeah, man?" Kiba asked, crossing his fingers and hoping Shino was not going to ask th-

"...Am I useless...?" Oh no, not this again! Kiba facepalmed.

"No! You are not! Shino! This is, like, the hundredth time I am telling you this: You are not useless! Hinata is unconscious not because of you! It's because o-!" Kiba immediately stopped when he noticed his very out-of-character friend twitching a little. He seemed a little freaked out. Oops! Kiba was not supposed to talk about Hinata. Quick! Change the subject!

"Uhhhhh... Want to grab some ramen?" Kiba attempted to change the subject.

"...No thank you... I think I'll head home... Why? Hmmm... I cannot seem to answer that either..." Shino seemed to be talking to himself after he said he would head home. Kiba resisted the urge to grab Shino's shoulders and shake him hard, yelling in his ear to go back to being himself as his depressed self was driving him nuts.

When they reached back, the boys decided to spend the lazy evening doing random stuff. Kiba even told Shino that "Random stuff" did not include "Suicidal stuff", much to Shino's dismay.

Realising that he had already read all his books, played all his video games, and that he was not allowed to use the computer, Shino decided to just take a nap. And if you are going to ask, why not go do some sports or work out, I will simply tell you this: No working on lazy evenings!

Kiba was lying on the floor next to the couch the bug-lover was currently laying on, doodling on a piece of paper. He was halfway drawing a dog when he heard the Aburame softly curse.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Kiba asked as he poked the brown-haired shinobi and Akamaru softly whined.

"...My insomnia is back..."


	7. Hinata Wakes Up

Kiba, honestly, was not really surprised. Smarter than he looked, he had actually predicted that this might happen. Shino had told him about the time when he got insomnia when Kiba and Hinata were still together. And now, Hinata is unconscious, and Shino's insomnia is back. Somehow, Kiba just predicted it.

Whenever something happened to Hinata, whether good or bad, and that made the bug-lover unhappy, Shino would get insomnia, or so Kiba thought. Well, that was just his theory.

The Inuzuka told the Aburame about his hypothesis and Shino unintentionally insulted him, saying, "Hmmm... When did you become so smart...? In fact, when did you ever use your brain...? Hmm... Not as dumb as you look..." Just by saying that, Kiba felt like clawing the Aburame's eyes out, but fortunately, he did not.

The next few minutes were spent in silence, until Kiba suddenly broke the silence.

"Shall we visit Hinata?" he suggested.

"...Does it snow during winter...?" Shino replied. Kiba laughed before heading for Konoha hospital with Shino. During the trip, Kiba had to constantly remind the Aburame that the reason why Hinata was unconscious was not his fault, in case Shino suddenly got depressed again.

Shortly afterwards, the two ninjas reached the hospital. Kiba decided that he should buy some flowers for Hinata while Shino should look after her. After all, he was sure Hinata would not really want to see him.

Shino smiled for a short moment when he noticed how peaceful the Hyuga heiress looked when she was asleep, but immediately stopped when the thought of everything being his fault crossed his mind for the umpteenth time that day.

"Argh... If I had found her earlier then she would not be in here... And maybe if I had spent more time with her, she would not have been so depressed... Argh!" Shino groaned with frustration.

A few minutes passed and the Inuzuka returned, only to find the Aburame hitting his head on the wall.

"Oi! Shino! No! Stop! Jeez! No! Don't! Hit! Yourself! Anymore!" Kiba grabbed the older boy's shoulders, making him stop. His head was already bruised and Kiba wondered exactly how hard Shino had hit his head.

"Look, man! This is not your fault!" Kiba shook the boy slightly before he continued, "This is entirely my fault! Okay?" And the moment he said that, he regretted it.

"...Oh... You're right... It is **your** fault..." Shino replied in his usual monotone while the dog-lover nodded before he tackled him to the ground. Well, at least Kiba was right about depression making his friend really out of character... And insomnia only made it worse!

Kiba was rescued by a bunch of medical ninjas and Sakura as they had heard the boys' shouts. For no reason, the pink-haired medic hit Kiba on the head, calling him an idiot.

"By the way, Kiba, Lady Tsunade has a mission for you and Tsume!" Sakura informed the extremely bruised boy. Kiba nodded and saw this as a chance to escape from the enraged Shino and ran off.

"GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!" Shino suddenly yelled, making everyone else jump. Sakura spent about an hour trying to calm him down and, fortunately, succeeded.

Shino sighed before he bent down to pick up the flowers on the floor which the Inuzuka had dropped when he had attacked him. He placed the flowers in a vase and sighed again.

"...Oh God, Hinata!... Why on Earth did you do that?..." he unknowingly started talking.

"...You always think negatively... When Kiba broke up with you, you thought it was because you were useless... But it was really just Kiba being a jerk...!" Shino continued, not noticing what he had just called his best friend, "...You are not useless. You are extraordinary and amazing. I think you are wonderful too! Why?..." Shino paused for a moment before he continued, "...Because I love you..." After saying that, the Aburame immediately covered his mouth. Did he really just say all that?

"...Whoa... I must be out of my mind..." he spoke to himself, "I'm too useless! I couldn't save her! Why did I just say that? I don't deserve her! She deserves someone better!... Best if she doesn't know I said that..." The bug-lover sighed.

Shino almost jumped when he felt a cold and small hand on his warm ones and a soft voice spoke.

"...Thank you, Shino-kun..."


	8. The End

_Hinata was running. To where? Well, she did not know. She was simply running in empty space. It was so peaceful. But it was also dark. She wondered whether she was dead._

_All of a sudden, the darkness faded and she was lying in the hospital bed when she heard her teammate's voice._

"...Because I love you..."

She heard him scolding himself immediately after he said that but she could not hear it clearly.

The Hyuga heiress placed a hand on her friend's warm ones before she said in her soft voice, "...Thank you, Shino-kun..."

She noticed her teammate immediately turning to look at her, looking awfully surprised.

Shino looked into his female teammate's pale eyes and felt tears in his eyes.

"H-Hinata!" he exclaimed her name as she sat up, immediately hugging her. He immediately realised how out of character that was but he did not care. He was extremely glad his crush had woken up. What shocked him was that the raven-haired girl returned the embrace.

Then he realised something and immediately let go, facing the other side and desperately hiding his blush.

"D-Did you... Hear anything...?" the Aburame asked in a rather soft voice.

Hinata giggled before she replied, "O-O-O-One p-part, y-y-yes!" And Shino felt his face heat up even worse.

"...W-Which part...?" the brown-haired bug-lover asked again.

"You said that y-y-you loved m-m-me..." Hinata replied, smiling slightly as her face turned deep red.

Shino could have fainted then and there, but that would be extremely out of his style. The entire room fell silent for a while before Hinata spoke again.

"I-I-Is that... T-T-True?" the pale-eyed girl asked. The Aburame slowly nodded before he silently cursed himself for not lying instead.

"T-Thank you," Hinata thanked the other again and a smile grew on her face.

Hinata was discharged a week after that day. Shino, who still thought everything was his fault, was over-protective and followed her around the village to help her. Hinata had some trouble walking at first, so the hospital lent her a pair of crutches.

Kiba had came back from his mission and apologised to Hinata countless number of times though Hinata had already forgiven him the first time he had apologised.

For Shino, knowing that Hinata was alright, finally could sleep as his insomnia was gone. And because of that, he got rid of his exhaustion, which was the cause of the depression.

Everything went back to normal after about a month, until one day after training, Hinata went up to Shino.

"Um... S-S-Shino-kun?" she asked and the Aburame turned to look at her. She continued, "Um... Thank you f-f-for taking care of me for that one month..."

"...You're welcome, Hinata," Shino replied in his usual monotone.

"W-Wait! I'm not done! I-I-I... Um... D-During that one m-month... I think... I s-s-started to grow feelings for y-you..." There was a long pause before she continued, "Will you... Accept my f-f-feelings?"

Shino's eyes widened. Was he dreaming?

"...I-I... O-Of course, H-H-Hinata..." Shino replied as he felt like Hinata Number Two. He felt his face heat up. Then something he did not expect happened.

He felt a pair of moist lips on his. Whoa! When did she become so brave? Now Shino felt embarrassed. Why was it that he seemed so much shyer than her?

Hinata soon broke the kiss and Shino asked, "So... Um... Want to... Go on our first date?..." And Hinata said yes.

Soon, the two became one of the most loving couple in Konoha that rarely, no, never quarrelled.

A few years passed and their generation soon became adults. One day, Shino plucked up the courage and went to Hinata. He knelt on the ground and pulled out a small box before opening it to reveal the shiniest and prettiest ring that Hinata had ever seen.

"Hinata Hyuga, will you marry me?" he asked and Hinata said yes.


End file.
